The major in environmental studies (ENVS) is available only
as a second major to students within the School of Arts and Sciences. It consists of 36 credits of coursework
reflecting the program's four-field approach (natural sciences, humanities,
social sciences, and methods/techniques).
At least 18 of these credits must be earned through
coursework at the 300 level or higher. No more than 9 of these credits can be
double-counted for either the student's primary major or any other degree. No
more than one D grade will be accepted for credit toward the major.
Dual Major Requirement
The major in environmental studies is designed as a second major
and it is meant to complement a student's primary major in another field. All requirements for both majors must be met
before the major in environmental studies can be conferred. A student's primary major may be drawn from
any major recognized by the School of Arts and Sciences.
Approved Courses
Courses not included in the lists below must be approved by
the ENVS undergraduate program director before being applied toward meeting
ENVS degree requirements. Courses marked with an asterisk [*] have
prerequisites in their home departments.
Introduction to Environmental Studies (3 credits)
01:381:101 Introduction to Environmental Studies
Natural Science (NS) Requirement (6 credits)
No more than 3 credits from the following list:
01:070:111 Extinction
01:119:160 Biology, Society, and Ecological Issues
01:450:101 Earth
Systems (or 01:460:101 Introductory Geology)
01:460:100 Planet
Earth
01:460:101 Introductory
Geology (or 01:450:101 Earth Systems)
01:460:110 Sea Change
01:556:143 Energy and
Climate Change
11:216:110 Evolution,
Disease, and Medicine
11:375:103 Introduction
to Environmental Health
11:670:102 Introduction to Climate Science (or 01:450:213
Global Climate System)
At least 3 credits from the following list:
01:070:213
Environment and Human Evolution
01:070:336
Primatology, Wildlife Ecology, and Conservation in Kenya (note: summer
field school in Kenya)
01:070:337 Field
Methods and Analysis in Primatology in Kenya (note: summer field school in
Kenya)
01:070:345 Study
Abroad - Applied Conservation in Ecosystem Management
01:070:402 Primate
Conservation Biology*
01:160:439 Physical
Chemistry of the Environment
01:450:212 Water
Resources (or 01:460:204 The Water Planet)
01:450:213 Global
Climate System (or 11:670:102 Introduction to Climate Science)
01:450:214
Conservation
01:450:306 Global
Ecosystems and Biodiversity
01:450:313 Climate
Change
01:450:413 Climate
System and Global Climate Change
01:450:414
Geographical Hydrology
01:450:417 Coastal
Geomorphology
01:460:202
Environmental Geology
01:460:203 Building
and Maintaining a Habitable Planet
01:460:204 The Water
Planet (or 01:450:212 Water Resources
01:460:207 Oil and
Gold: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
11:216:320
Controversies in Sustainability
11:573:444 Watershed
Planning and Management: An Interdisciplinary Perspective
Environmental Humanities (EH) Requirement (6 credits)
01:090:297:02
Literature and Maps: The Cartographic Impulse
01:195:220 Our World:
Social Justice and the Environment
01:358:205 The Coming
Apocalypse
01:359:209 Introduction to Health, Medicine, and
Literature
01:358:262
Introduction to Literature and the Environment
01:450:409 Geohumanities
01:470:364 Big Bang:
The Literature of Chaos and Order
01:506:251 History of
Science and Society
01:512:111 Race,
Place, and Space in American History
01:512:320 American
Frontier History
01:512:324 History of
the North American Environment
01:512:329 Technology
and Nature in American History
01:730:249 Bioethics
01:730:250
Environmental Ethics
01:730:252 Eating
Right: The Ethics of Food Choices and Food Policy
11:550:250 History of
Landscape Architecture
Environmental Social Science (ESS) Requirement (6 credits
)
No more than 3 credits from the following list:
01:070:111 Extinction
01:090:281 Disasters,
Culture, and Society
01:090:292:03 Energy
and Culture
01:450:211 Environment
and Society
01:450:214 Conservation
01:595:281:01 Caribbean
Urbanism and Policy (1.5-credit minicourse)
01:920:227 Population
and Society
01:920:232 Sociology
of Food and Eating
01:988:240 Gender and
Science
11:374:115 Water and
Society
11:374:141 Health and
Society
11:374:175 Energy and
Society
11:374:220 Environmental
Solutions
11:374:269 Population,
Resources, and Environment
11:374:279 Politics
of Environmental Issues
11:550:230 Environmental Design Analysis
11:572:202 Environmental
Issues in the United States
11:573:231 Fundamentals
of Environmental Planning
At least 3 credits from the following list:
01:070:302 Culture
and the Environment*
01:070:486 Gender,
Development, Environment: Policies, Politics, Perspectives
01:082:441 Cultural
Heritage and Disaster: Preparedness, Response, and Resilience
01:220:432
Environmental Economics*
01:220:334 Energy
Economics*
01:450:311 Natural
Hazards and Disasters
01:450:317 Geography
of Energy Resources
01:450:360 Cultural
and Political Ecology
01:450:370 Climate
Change and Society
01:595:312 Topics in
Latino and Caribbean Studies: Barrio and Ghetto Life
01:790:350
Environmental Politics - U.S. and International
01:830:409 Reasoning,
Problem Solving, and Decision-Making
01:920:359
Environmental Sociology*
01:988:409 Gender,
Environmental Justice, and Health
11:374:462 International
Environmental Law
11:550:271 Agriculture
and the Landscape
Environmental Methods/Techniques/Modes of Inquiry (EMTM) Requirement (3 credits)
01:450:320 Spatial
Data Analysis
01:450:321 Geographic
Information Systems (or 11:573:232 Fundamentals of Environmental Geomatics)
01:450:322 Remote
Sensing
01:450:355 Principles
of Cartography
01:450:356 Advanced
Cartography*
01:450:421 Advanced
Geographic Information Systems*
11:216:315 Conservation
Techniques
11:375:197 Environmental
Science Literacy
11:550:237 Visualization
1: Drawing and Drafting
11:550:301 Social and
Cultural Aspects of Design
11:573:232 Fundamentals
of Environmental Geomatics (must also enroll for 1-credit lab)
11:573:233 (or 01:450:321) Geographic Information Systems
Environmental Studies Capstone (ESC) Requirement (3 credits)
The environmental studies capstone requirement is typically
met through participation in the upper-level environmental studies seminar
listed below. The ENVS seminar is an integrative, problem-based,
project-oriented course for students in their junior or senior years who have
declared the ENVS major and completed the bulk of their ENVS coursework. This
faculty-led seminar is structured to facilitate interdisciplinary student work.
Seminar participants work collaboratively over the course of a semester on a
selected environmental issue, demonstrating through specific assignments how
perspectives representing each of the ENVS fields can be brought to bear on a
given environmental problem. The ESC requirement may also be met through an
internship, service-learning experience, study abroad, or honors project with
approval of the undergraduate adviser. Students fulfilling the ESC requirement
through one of these alternative means may also enroll in the ENVS seminar as
an elective.
01:381:400 Environmental Studies Seminar (3 credits)
Electives (9 credits)
Electives may be drawn from among any of the approved
courses listed above. Special topics courses taught in ENVS or other
departments may also be counted toward particular degree requirements with
permission of the undergraduate director. Similarly, the following special
courses may be applied to meet any of the ENVS distribution requirements with
the approval of the undergraduate director, depending on their contents. No course may be used to satisfy more than
one degree requirement, however.
01:381:371,372 Environmental
Studies Topics
01:381:485,486 Environmental
Studies Internship
01:381:491,492 Environmental
Studies Independent Study
01:381:495,496 Honors
in Environmental Studies
Study abroad courses not listed above.
Departmental Honors Program
The distinction of Honors in Environmental Studies is
awarded to graduating seniors who achieve: (1) a GPA of 3.50 or higher within
the major at the end of their penultimate semester prior to graduation; or (2)
a GPA of at least 3.35 within the major at the end of the penultimate semester,
followed by the successful submission and defense of an approved honors thesis.
The distinction of Highest Honors in Environmental Studies is awarded to
students who achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher within the major at the
end of the penultimate semester, and successfully submit and defend an approved
honors thesis.
The honors thesis is produced under the supervision of a
faculty committee. This committee consists of two faculty members: a principal
thesis supervisor, who works closely with the student on the honors project
over the course of a full academic year; and a second reader of the thesis, who
reviews the final product and participates in the thesis defense. Faculty members who teach approved ENVS courses typically serve as thesis advisers.
Students should recruit their advising team at the end of the junior year. Thesis
research and writing fulfills the requirements of Honors in Environmental
Studies 381:495 and 381:496 (3 credits per semester scheduled during senior
year). After completing relevant research and producing a finished draft of the
thesis, the student gives an oral presentation of their work and defends the
thesis by responding to questions posed by the primary supervisor and second
reader. Final revisions to the thesis must be completed to meet degree
completion deadlines--typically mid-April for a spring degree--if the student
plans to graduate with honors on the basis of the thesis option.